Basket Ball / Sports

Jimmy Butler, Heat crush Hawks for 3-1 playoff series lead

Jimmy Butler erupted for 36 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals to lead the Miami Heat to a dominant 110-86 win over the Atlanta Hawks and a 3-1 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

The top-seeded Heat led by as many as 27 points in the victory Sunday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

“I’m not the only one who is in rhythm,” Butler told reporters. “I feel like we are playing great basketball and getting stops whenever our spacing correct. This was a good one, but we have another one to get.”

With another win, the Heat can claim the best-of-seven series and advance to a second-round matchup with the No. 4 Philadelphia 76ers or No. 5 Toronto Raptors. Sunday’s Game 4 featured 10 lead changes and was tied five times. The Heat outscored the No. 8 Hawks 48-26 in the paint and 8-0 off fast breaks. The Hawks made just 40% of their field goal attempts. The Heat totaled just six turnovers, with zero in the first half.

The also Heat played without veteran guard Kyle Lowry, who is dealing with a hamstring strain.

“We just wanted to be organized,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of playing without Lowry. “We didn’t have our quarterback and Jimmy and Bam [Adebayo] allowed us to get settled, particularly in the first half. “We had to find a way to win this game. A lot of it was our defense and versatility.”

Forward De’Andre Hunter scored 11 points and went 3 for 3 on 3-point attempts to help the Hawks earn a 26-25 lead through the first quarter. The Hawks started the second on a 9-2 run, but the Heat responded with a 15-2 run to take a 44-37 lead 3:58 before halftime.

The Heat also scored 11 unanswered points to end the quarter for a 55-41 advantage at the break. Butler scored 13 points in the second. The Heat outscored the Hawks 25-20 in the third and took an 80-61 edge into the fourth. Butler scored a …

Basket Ball / Sports

Heat pull away to beat Nets 106-93

Bam Adebayo had 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Miami Heat to a 106-93 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

Jimmy Butler added 17 points for Miami (3-1). P.J. Tucker finished with 15, and Tyler Herro and Dewayne Dedmon each contributed 14.

A preseason favorite to win the NBA championship, Brooklyn has alternated losses and wins through the first five games of the season and dropped to 2-3. Kevin Durant finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

”I like how we’re playing defense the last couple games,” Durant said. ”I like where our defense is trending. … I feel like we’re generating good shots. We’re just (not) knocking them down. If we continue to generate good shots we’ll put ourselves in good position.”

Joe Harris contributed 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting, including 5 for 11 from 3-point range. With his third 3-pointer of the game, Harris passed Jason Kidd as the franchise’s career leader in made 3-pointers.

James Harden had 14 points and Bruce Brown chipped in with 12.

The first of four regular-season matchups between the Eastern Conference rivals was a contrast in styles, the flashy, up-tempo, high-scoring Nets against a physical Heat squad.

Despite forcing the Nets to play a possession-by-possession game for much of the first half, the Heat trailed 51-49 at the half. Miami had outscored Brooklyn in the paint (30-20), had more second-chance points (15-2), and had a decided edge in rebounds (35-25).

”We have a bunch of like-minded guys,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”(That’s) the way those guys are hard-wired.”

What the Heat did not have, though, was the tandem of Durant and Harden, who combined for 25 of Brooklyn’s 51 points in the half. Durant also grabbed eight rebounds while Harden added three boards and three assists.

Miami stayed with its approach and it paid dividends in the third quarter, as the Heat outscored the Nets 32-23 and took an 81-74 lead into the fourth. The Heat extended their lead to 88-77 before Brooklyn used a 7-2 spurt to …

Athletics / Basket Ball / Olympics / Sports

Five ‘Nigerians’ who won medals for other countries

There is hardly any top sporting competition in the world that Nigerian names don’t pop up even if the Green and White flag of the country is conspicuously absent.

From the American Super Bowl to the NBA and even the recent Euro 2020, participants with Nigerian lineage are always present.

The situation was not any different at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics even though Team Nigeria was actually on parade in Japan – returning home with two medals.

The 27-year old was part of the all-conquering Italian Men’s 4x100m quartet that stormed to gold in Tokyo.

Though Desalu is of Nigerian origin, he was born and raised in Italy and acquired full Italian citizenship in 2012.

“I have never been to Nigeria and, right now [2019], I don’t feel the need to go. I don’t even know the national anthem of Nigeria. My roots are in Africa and I don’t ignore them but I consider myself deeply Italian,” Eseosa said.

While Desalu is celebrating his gold for Italy, Nigeria failed to qualify for the men’s 4x100m event in Tokyo despite pushing hard after failing to attend the World Relays where they could have gotten a ticket more easily.

Ujah Chindu

Competing in his second Olympic Games for Great Britain after his debut in Rio, Ujah narrowly missed out on the 4x100m gold but would be pleased with the silver nonetheless.

Ujah’s father was an engineer who moved from Nigeria to England as a boy. The sprinter admits it was difficult convincing his father that a career in athletics was the right choice for him.

“I used to play football for my local club and was pretty good. Dad was not too impressed about football and he didn’t like the idea of me going pro. When I was doing athletics he thought it was just a hobby, and I set my heart on showing him that it wasn’t just a little thing on the side.

“He got a letter in the post when I was 17 saying I’d been selected for the …